1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to computer graphics, and more specifically to the animation of special effects such as dust, smoke, and/or explosions using a fluid dynamics framework.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of computer animation, animated special effects such as smoke, fire, dust, explosions, and the like are frequently modeled using fluid simulation because fluid simulations produce realistic models of such animated special effects. For example, FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary animation scene with a large dust cloud 102 that is modeled using fluid simulation.
Computer-implemented fluid simulations are typically based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, which are partial differential equations that govern the properties of a moving fluid. The outcome of a fluid simulation that is based on the Navier-Stokes equations may be affected by manipulating the inputs to the Navier-Stokes equations, and by manipulating the way in which the partial differential equations are solved.
During the production of a computer animated feature film, a significant amount of time is spent on the modeling of animated special effects similar to dust cloud 102. Thus, improvements in the fluid simulation tools available to animation artists for creating animated special effects, especially in the areas of computational efficiency, visual quality, setup flexibility, and artistic control, are instrumental in improving the visual quality of a computer animated feature film while reducing its associated costs.